Donahue Fitzgerald LLP has a group of over fifty attorneys spanning three offices in the Bay Area; Oakland (headquarters), Mill Valley and Walnut Creek.

Contact Us

Firm Overview

Donahue Fitzgerald LLP was founded in 2014 with the merger of two of California's oldest law firms, Donahue Gallagher Woods LLP and Fitzgerald Abbott & Beardsley LLP.

We conduct a diversified civil practice from three strategically located Bay Area offices in Oakland, Walnut Creek, and Mill Valley. With more than fifty attorneys, we provide a full range of civil legal services across a broad spectrum of areas of expertise.

Our clients range from individuals, sole proprietorships, family-owned businesses to multi-national Fortune 500 corporations. They include some of the country's most prominent technology companies and retailers. The breadth of this experience, coupled with a cooperative culture among our attorneys, enables us to offer our clients the sophistication and expertise of a large firm with the responsiveness and efficiency of a small firm.

Donahue Fitzgerald forges two of the East Bay's most historic legal institutions into a dynamic new firm that will be stronger, more efficient and better able to provide superior legal services to clients in a wider range of practice areas and industries.

Whether we are retained for a single matter or to handle a client's ongoing needs, our focus is on developing a close working relationship with each client, while providing the highest quality services in the most cost-effective manner. To do so, each Donahue Fitzgerald attorney brings a business and practical perspective to every matter, ensuring that you have both a legal counselor and a real-world problem solver by your side.

Donahue Fitzgerald's diverse, sophisticated, and effective practice will only continue to grow in strength and breadth. One thing will remain the same: our tireless dedication to furthering our clients' dreams and resolving issues that confront them today, tomorrow, and in the future.

JONATHAN OSDER

Jonathan's area of expertise is intellectual property law. His practice extends internationally and he is often engaged in cutting edge legal issues that involve copyrights, high technology (including computer, Internet, and new media law), trademarks, domain name disputes, patent enforcement and licensing, unfair competition, rights of publicity, and general civil matters.

Mr. Osder counsels diverse clients, including prominent software companies, manufacturers, musicians, universities, computer programmers, authors, Internet and application service providers, artists, animators, professors, producers, professional athletes, restaurateurs, photographers, and other entrepreneurs on how to secure, protect, license, transfer, and enforce their proprietary rights. This includes helping clients identify their valuable intellectual property assets, preparing proper documentation to memorialize their ownership rights, and facilitating recordation and registration of those rights with the appropriate government agencies. In the copyright context alone, he has worked on over 1,000 copyright registration applications for registration with the U.S. Copyright Office.

As a professional negotiator, Mr. Osder has substantial experience and has demonstrated his expertise through his handling of many multi-million dollar negotiations for which he also drafted complex agreements. He is an experienced and talented negotiator and drafter of various agreement types, including license, intellectual property transfer, software and website development, consultation, distribution, settlement, non-disclosure, advertising, book publishing, Internet, and computer-related agreements.

Mr. Osder helps supervise the firm's IP enforcement programs, including its software license compliance, domain name enforcement, and patent enforcement programs conducted on behalf of clients such as Autodesk, Inc., the Software & Information Industry Association, Dyson, Symantec Corporation, and Monster, Inc. he has negotiated the recovery of several million dollars prosecuting civil claims of software copyright infringement on behalf of clients such as Autodesk, Intuit, and trade organizations whose members include Adobe Systems, Apple Computer, Autodesk, Microsoft Corporation, Network Associates, Novell, and Symantec.

As part of our firm's entertainment law practice, Jonathan creates and negotiates agreements unique to the entertainment industry, such as distribution, merchandise, synchronization, public performance, music publishing, musician tour, character licensing, recording, endorsement and sponsorship, and right of publicity agreements. He provides such legal services to clients such as Carlos Santana, Journey, Phish, Ice Nine Publishing, and Monster, Inc. He also negotiates clearances from rights holders, including record labels, performance rights societies, motion picture studios, the Screen Actors Guild, the Directors Guild, and the Writers Guild.

License

Bar Number: 169538
California

Education

University of San Francisco
Law

STEVEN K. LEE

Steven K. Lee is a partner in Donahue Fitzgerald, where he specializes in business and corporate law and intellectual property law. He represents domestic and international clients in a variety of industries, including tech companies, online social media companies, nonprofits, manufacturers, retailers, importers, food and beverage companies, wineries, construction and general contracting companies, real estate investors, authors, publishers, musicians, and other entrepreneurs and emerging companies. He handles a broad range of matters, such as formation of business and nonprofit entities, private securities offerings, business mergers and acquisitions, license and distribution agreements, software development agreements, copyright and trademark enforcement, trade secret protection, and protecting rights of publicity.

With his diverse experience, including in-house experience as Associate General Counsel at ABM Industries in San Francisco, Mr. Lee serves as outside general counsel to many of his clients. Mr. Lee has negotiated settlements of copyright infringement claims on behalf of numerous software companies, recovering millions of dollars from infringers for his clients. He assists clients in selecting trademarks and in obtaining and maintaining registration of their marks, and he represents clients in trademark disputes. Mr. Lee has handled intellectual property matters and corporate transactions for entertainment industry clients such as Carlos Santana, Journey, Phish, Grateful Dead, The String Cheese Incident, The J. Geils Band, and Amon Tobin.

ANDREW S. MACKAY

Andrew S. MacKay specializes in intellectual property, employment law, and commercial litigation. His clients range from start-up businesses to corporations such as Autodesk, Inc., Dyson Ltd., and Nomota, LLC (which holds rights for the musical group Journey). His work has resulted in favorable judgments, preliminary and permanent injunctive relief, and settlements for his clients.

His intellectual property practice includes both pre-litigation enforcement work and litigation in the areas of copyright, trademark, trade dress, domain name, trade secret, and patent. His copyright cases have involved infringement of his client's rights in business software, music, architectural drawings, videogames, books and eBooks, and artwork. These matters often involve removal of online infringing content under the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (known as the DMCA) and claims related to the circumvention of technological measures designed to control access to a work (known as anti-circumvention claims).

Mr. MacKay's trademark practice has claims of trademark counterfeiting and infringement of marks for business names and products, such as software, musical recordings, and household products like bladeless fans. His trademark practice includes both litigation in federal and state court and trademark prosecution before the Patent and Trademark Office (known as the PTO).

His trade dress cases have involved product design, for products such as chairs and other furniture, and product packaging, for products such as nutritional supplements. His trade dress practice also includes cases involving franchise design and layout.

Mr. MacKay enforces his clients' rights in domain names both through lawsuits involving claims such as cybersquatting and Uniform Domain-Name Dispute Resolution Procedures (known as UDRPs). His work involves monitoring and enforcement efforts for both existing and new domain name registrations that are substantially similar to his clients' trademarks or that involve intentional misspelling of his clients' trademark, known as typosquatting.

His patent practice involves prelitigation enforcement and litigation of both design and utility patents. Mr. MacKay's practice frequently includes other related areas of computer and Internet law, such as branding or claims of online defamation.

His employment practice involves representation of clients in claims of discrimination and harassment on the basis of race, sex, and disability, as well as claims of unpaid wages. He represents clients in administrative proceedings, as well as state and federal litigation, including class actions. He also counsels clients regarding compliance with employment laws.

His commercial litigation experience covers disputes involving a wide variety of business agreements ranging from software licenses and product warranties to distribution and reseller agreements. These cases often focus on complex issues of contract interpretation. Mr. MacKay's commercial litigation practice has also included shareholder, indemnity, and insurance disputes. He has represented clients in trust and estate disputes and real estate litigation.

ERIC A. HANDLER

Eric A. Handler is a partner at Donahue Fitzgerald, specializing in commercial litigation, intellectual property law, and bankruptcy. He has a wide range of experience handling business law matters involving contract disputes, construction litigation, employment matters, unlawful detainer actions, mechanics liens, complex asbestos litigation, judgment enforcement and collection, and representation of creditors and debtors in and outside of bankruptcy. Mr. Handler's intellectual property practice is diverse and includes litigation and resolution through negotiation of all aspects of disputes concerning rights in trademarks and copyrights (including infringement actions and filing and opposing registration applications), Internet domain names (including UDRP proceedings and anticypersquatting claims under federal law), personality rights, and trade secrets, as well as transactional licensing of intellectual property rights. In connection with his work for the Alameda County Bar Association and his position on the board of directors of that organization's Volunteer Legal Services Corporation, Mr. Handler regularly leads a bankruptcy clinic for low income Alameda County residents.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Handler was an associate with Mesch, Clark & Rothschild, P.C. in Tucson, Arizona, where he focused on representation of municipalities, personal injury litigation, and writing appeals. He subsequently moved to California and practiced asbestos-related complex civil litigation at Paul, Hanley & Harley LLP in Berkeley. During law school, Mr. Handler interned at the United States Department of Justice and obtained a grant from the State of Arizona through which he analyzed the legal ramifications of proposed water supply augmentation projects under consideration for Southern Arizona.

Prior to law school, Mr. Handler worked extensively in the computer software industry as a software developer and management consultant. In this capacity he worked for Microsoft Corporation assisting developers using the Microsoft Visual Basic programming language with database connectivity issues. Mr. Handler continues to utilize his software programming background both as part of his intellectual property practice and in designing, implementing, and maintaining for the firm various databases and Internet-based tools for managing those databases.

JONATHAN MCNEIL WONG

Jonathan McNeil Wong heads the firm's immigration and nationality law practice, advising and representing domestic and international companies that are hiring foreign nationals to work in the United States. He recommends immigration strategies to employers and represents them before the Departments of State and Homeland Security. He has handled the immigration process for U.S. companies seeking the services of foreign engineers, scientists, technical specialists, and marketing and operations personnel in diverse business sectors ranging from architecture to zoological science. He is also experienced in the transfer of foreign executives, managers, and other key personnel to American branches of foreign companies. In employment circumstances involving access to trade secrets and other proprietary information, he assists employers in evaluating the foreign worker's background and structuring a relationship that protects his clients' interests.

An experienced litigator, Mr. Wong counsels employers and defends them against claims of wrongful termination, discrimination and sexual harassment, and other employment-related issues. He has also represented plaintiffs in employment-related individual and class litigation. He has served as trial counsel in multiple trials, has represented clients in numerous mediations and arbitrations, and has successfully argued his clients' cases before California and federal appeals courts. He was lead counsel for instatement procedures and was responsible for negotiating the settlement of all claims made by 1,200 employees in a class action lawsuit settled by a consent decree. His litigation practice also includes advising clients, in-house counsel, and partner law firms on electronic discovery best practices, technology assisted review, and compliance with new federal and state electronic discovery rules.

Mr. Wong advises employers on personnel disputes, employee discipline, demotions, and terminations. He drafts and reviews employee policy manuals, checking for compliance with all federal, state, and local regulations. He also counsels employers on workplace safety and OSHA compliance and on the implications of the Americans With Disabilities Act. He assists employers in complying with federal, state, and local requirements governing wages, hours, and other conditions of employment and defends them in administrative proceedings brought by government agencies. As part of his employment and labor law practice, Mr. Wong negotiates and drafts employment agreements for key employees, executives, and officers. His labor relations practice concentrates on advising employers regarding union elections, employee grievances, contract interpretation and collective bargaining strategies and techniques.

Mr. Wong is the recipient of multiple awards for his provision of pro bono legal services to the indigent. His languages include French, German, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese.

* Nolo has confirmed that every member attorney has a valid license and is in good standing with the state agency that licenses lawyers. Any past disbarments and suspensions (with possible exceptions for minor violations or nonpayment of dues, in our discretion) will be indicated accordingly in the badge. Member attorneys are required to notify Nolo immediately if they become the subject of any disciplinary action by any state licensing agency.